to carry it to Spain was wrecked in a violent storm, just outside theharbour, and the famous nugget was lost. _Las Casas, his Life, hisApostolate, and his Writings_, cap. iii.]

At the present time the members composing this tribunal are alldistinguished noblemen of illustrious blood, whom I will enumeratein the order in which they sit in judging a case. The first place isoccupied by Antonio Rojas, Archbishop of Granada, who is your kinsman;he is a veritable Cato, unable to condone his own offences or those ofhis relatives. His life is austere and he cultivates literature. Heholds the first place in the Council, or in other words, he is thePresident thereof. The other members of the Council rank by seniority,according to the order in which they were appointed. All are doctorsor designates or holders of some decoration. The designates are thosewho are called in Spanish licenciates. All are nominated by the King.The Dean of the Assembly is Pedro Oropesa; next to him comes LudovicoZapato; then, in regular order, Fernando Tellez, Garcias Moxica,Lorenzo Carvajal; Toribio Santiago sits next to the last-named, andafter him come Juan Lopez, Palacios Rivas, and Ludovico Polanco.Francisco Vargas, who is likewise royal treasurer, sits next, and thetwo last places are held by priests, Sosa and Cabrero, both doctors ofCanon law. The counsellors do not judge criminal cases, but all civilsuits are within their cognisance.

Let us now return to the new countries, from which we have wandered.These countries are very numerous, diversified, and fertile; neitherSaturn nor Hercules nor any hero of antiquity who set out for thediscovery or conquest of unknown lands, excelled the exploits of ourcontemporary Spaniards. Behold, how posterity will see the Christianreligion extended! How far it will be possible to travel amongstmankind! Neither by word of mouth nor by my pen can I express mysentiments concerning these wondrous events, and I, therefore, leavemy book without an ending, always counting upon making furtherresearches and collecting documents for a more detailed description inmy letters, when I shall be at leisure to write.

For I am not ignorant that our Admiral, Columbus,[8] with four shipsand a crew of seventy men furnished him by the sovereigns, hasexplored during the year 1502 the country extending about one hundredand thirty leagues west between Cuba and the continent; an island richin fruit trees, which is called Guanassa. The Admiral always followedthe coast towards the east, hoping by this manoeuvre to regain thewaters of Paria, but in this he was disappointed. It is claimed thatthe western coasts have also been visited by Vincent Yanez, of whomI have previously written, Juan Diaz Solis de Nebrissa and sundryothers, but I have no precise information on this point.[9] May Godgrant me life, that you may some day learn more upon this subject. Andnow you farewell.

Most Holy Father,[1] Since the arrival at the Spanish Court ofGaleazzo Butrigario of Bologna sent by Your Holiness, and GiovanniAccursi of Florence, sent by that glorious Republic, I haveunceasingly frequented their company and studied to please them,because of their virtues and their wisdom. Both take pleasure inreading various authors and certain books which have fallen by chanceinto their hands, works treating of the vast regions hitherto unknownto the world, and of the Occidental lands lying almost at theAntipodes which the Spaniards recently discovered. Despite itsunpolished style, the novelty of the narrative charmed them, andthey besought me, as well on their own behalf as in the name of YourHoliness, to complete my writings by continuing the narrative of allthat has since happened, and to send a copy to Your Beatitude so thatyou might understand to what degree, thanks to the encouragement ofthe Spanish sovereigns, the human race has been rendered illustriousand the Church Militant extended. For these new nations are as a_tabula rasa_; they easily accept the beliefs of our religion anddiscard their barbarous and primitive rusticity after contact with ourcompatriots. I have deemed it well to yield to the insistence ofwise men who enjoyed the favour of Your Holiness; indeed, had I notimmediately obeyed an invitation in the name of Your Beatitude, Ishould have committed an inexpiable crime. I shall now summarise ina few words the discoveries by the Spaniards of unknown coasts, theauthors of the chief expeditions, the places they landed, the hopesraised, and the promises held out by these new countries.

[Note 1: Giovanni de' Medici, elected in 1513, assumed the titleof Leo X. He was keenly interested in the exploration and discoveriesin America, and unceasingly urged his nuncios to keep him suppliedwith everything written on these subjects.]

The discovery of these lands I have mentioned, by the Genoese,Christopher Columbus, was related in my Ocean Decade, whichwas printed without my permission[2] and circulated throughoutChristendom. Columbus afterwards explored immense seas and countriesto the south-west, approaching within fifteen degrees of theequinoctial line. In those parts he saw great rivers, loftysnow-capped mountains along the coasts, and also secure harbours.After his death the sovereigns took steps to assume possession ofthose countries and to colonise them with Christians, in order thatour religion might be propagated. The royal notaries afforded everyfacility to every one who wished to engage in these honourableenterprises among whom two were notable: Diego Nicuesa de Baecca, anAndalusian, and Alonzo Hojeda de Concha.

[Note 2: Peter Martyr's friend, Lucio Marineo Siculo, wasresponsible for this premature Spanish edition published in 1511.An Italian edition of the First Decade was printed by AlbertinoVercellese at Venice in 1504.]

Both these men were living in Hispaniola where, as we have alreadysaid, the Spaniards had founded a town and colonies, when AlonzoHojeda first set out, about the ides of December, with about threehundred soldiers under his command. His course was almost directlysouth, until he reached one of those ports previously discovered andwhich Columbus had named Carthagena, because its island breakwater,its extent, and its coast shaped like a scythe reminded him ofCarthagena. The island lying across the mouth of the port is called bythe natives Codego, just as the Spaniards call the island in front ofCarthagena, Scombria. The neighbouring region is called Caramairi, acountry whose inhabitants, both male and female, are large and wellformed, although they are naked. The men wear their hair cut short tothe ears, while the women wear theirs long. Both sexes are extremelyskilful bowmen.

The Spaniards discovered certain trees in the province which bearfruits that are sweet, but most dangerous, for when eaten they produceworms. Most of all is the shade of this tree noxious, for whoeversleeps for any length of time beneath its branches, wakens with aswollen head, and almost blind, though this blindness abates within afew days. The port of Carthagena lies four hundred and fifty-six milesfrom the port of Hispaniola called Beata, where preparations aregenerally made for voyages of discovery. Immediately on landing,Hojeda attacked the scattered and defenceless natives. They had beenconceded to him by royal patent because they had formerly treated someChristians most cruelly and could never be prevailed upon to receivethe Spaniards amicably in their country. Only a small quantity ofgold, and that of poor quality, was found amongst them; they use themetal for making leaves and disks, which they hang on their breasts asornaments. Hojeda was not satisfied with these spoils, and taking someprisoners with him as guides, he attacked a village in the interiortwelve miles distant from the shore, where the fugitives from thecoast-town had taken refuge. These men, though naked, were warlike;they used wooden shields, some long and others curved, also longwooden swords, bows and arrows, and lances whose points were eitherhardened in the fire or made of bone. Assisted by their guests, theymade a desperate attack on the Spaniards, for they were excited by themisfortunes of those who had sought refuge with them, after havinglost their wives and children, whose massacre by the Spaniardsthey had witnessed. The Spaniards were defeated and both Hojeda'slieutenant, Juan de la Cosa,[3] the first discoverer of gold in thesands of Uraba, and seventy soldiers fell. The natives poisoned theirarrows with the juice of a death-dealing herb. The other Spaniardsheaded by Hojeda turned their backs and fled to the ships, where theyremained, saddened and depressed by this calamity, until the arrivalof another leader, Diego de Nicuesa, in command of twelve ships. WhenHojeda and Cosa sailed from Hispaniola, they had left Nicuesa in theport of Beata still busy with his preparations. His force numberedseven hundred and eighty-five soldiers, for he was an older manthan Hojeda, and he had greater authority; hence a larger number ofvolunteers, in choosing between the two leaders, preferred to join theexpedition of Nicuesa; moreover it was reported that Veragua, whichhad been granted to Nicuesa by the royal patent, was richer in goldthan Uraba, which Alonzo de Hojeda had obtained.

[Note 3: Such was the sad end of the pilot of Columbus. The oldestmap of the New World, now preserved at Madrid, was the work of thisnoted cartographer.]

As soon as Nicuesa landed, the two leaders after conferring together,decided that the first victims should be avenged, so they set out thatsame night to attack the murderers of Cosa and his seventy companions.It was the last watch of the night, when they surprised the natives,surrounding and setting fire to their village, which contained morethan one hundred houses. The usual number of inhabitants was tripledby the refugees who had there taken shelter.

The village was destroyed, for the houses were built of wood coveredwith palm-leaves. Out of the great multitude of men and women, onlysix infants were spared, all the others having been murdered or burntwith their effects. These children told the Spaniards that Cosa andthe others had been cut into bits and devoured by their murderers. Itis thought indeed that the natives of Caramairi are of the same originas the Caribs, or cannibals, who are eaters of human flesh. Verylittle gold was found amongst the ashes. It is in reality the thirstfor gold, not less than the covetousness of new countries, whichprompted the Spaniards to court such dangers. Having thus avenged thedeath of Cosa and his companions, they returned to Carthagena.

Hojeda, who was the first to arrive, was likewise the first toleave, starting with his men in search of Uraba, which is under hisjurisdiction. On his way thither he came upon an island calledLa Fuerte, which lies halfway between Uraba and the harbour ofCarthagena. There he landed and found it inhabited by ferociouscannibals, of whom he captured two men and seven women, the othersmanaging to escape. He likewise gathered one hundred and ninetydrachmas of gold made into necklaces of various kinds. He finallyreached the eastern extremity of Uraba. This is called Caribana,because it is from this country that the insular Caribs derive theirorigin, and have hence kept the name.[4] Hojeda's first care was toprovide protection, and to this end he built a village defended by afort. Having learned from his prisoners that there was a town twelvemiles in the interior, called Tirufi, celebrated for its gold mines,he made preparations for its capture. The inhabitants of Tirufi wereready to defend their rights, and Hojeda was repulsed with loss anddisgrace; these natives likewise used poisoned arrows in fighting.Driven by want, he attacked another village some days later, and waswounded by an arrow in the hip; some of his companions affirm that hewas shot by a native whose wife he had taken prisoner. The husbandapproached and negotiated amicably with Hojeda for the ransom ofhis wife, promising to deliver, on a fixed day, the amount of golddemanded of him. On the day agreed upon he returned, armed witharrows and javelins but without the gold. He was accompanied by eightcompanions, all of whom were ready to die to avenge the injury done tothe inhabitants of Carthagena and also the people of the village. Thisnative was killed by Hojeda's soldiers, and could no longer enjoy thecaresses of his beloved wife; but Hojeda, under the influence of thepoison, saw his strength ebbing daily away.

[Note 4: The place of origin of the Caribs is disputed, someauthorities tracing them to Guiana, others to Venezuela, others to theAntilles, etc.]

At this juncture arrived the other commander, Nicuesa, to whom theprovince of Veragua, lying west of Uraba, had been assigned as aresidence. He had sailed with his troops from the port of Carthagenathe day after Hojeda's departure, with Veragua for his destination,and entered the gulf called by the natives Coiba, of whom the caciquewas named Caeta. The people thereabouts speak an entirely differentlanguage from those of Carthagena and Uraba. The dialects of evenneighbouring tribes are very dissimilar.[5] For instance, inHispaniola, a king is called _cacique_, whereas in the province ofCoiba he is called _chebi_, and elsewhere _tiba_; a noble is called inHispaniola _taino_, in Coiba _saccus_, and in other parts _jura_.

[Note 5: _La Bibliotheque Americaine_ of Leclerc contains a listof the different works on American languages. Consult also Ludwig,_The Literature of American Aboriginal Languages_.]

Nicuesa proceeded from Coiba to Uraba, the province of his allyHojeda. Some days later, being on board one of the large merchantvessels called by the Spaniards caravels, he ordered the other shipsto follow at a distance, keeping with him two vessels with double setsof oars, of the type called brigantines. I may here say that duringthe rest of my narrative it is my intention to give to thesebrigantines as well as to the other types of ships the names they bearin the vulgar tongue. I do this that I may be more clearly understood,regardless of the teeth of critics who rend the works of authors. Eachday new wants arise, impossible to translate with the vocabulary leftus by the venerable majesty of antiquity.

After Nicuesa's departure Hojeda was joined by a ship from Hispaniolawith a crew of sixty men commanded by Bernardino de Calavera, who hadstolen it. Neither the maritime commander, or to speak more plainlythe Admiral,--nor the authorities had consented to his departure. Theprovisions brought by this ship somewhat restored the strength of theSpaniards.

The complaints of the men against Hojeda increased from day to day;for they accused him of having deceived them. He alleged in hisdefence, that by virtue of the powers he held from the King he haddirected the bachelor Enciso, who was chief justice and whom he hadselected because of his great legal abilities, to follow him with ashipload of stores; and that he was much astonished that the latterhad not long since arrived. He spoke the truth, for at the time ofhis departure, Enciso had already more than half completed hispreparations. His companions, however, who considered they had beenduped, did not believe in the sincerity of his affirmations aboutEnciso, and a number of them secretly planned to seize two brigantinesbelonging to Hojeda, and to return to Hispaniola. Upon discoveringthis plot, Hojeda decided to anticipate their plan and, leavingFrancisco Pizarro, a nobleman[6] who commanded the forts he had built,he took some of his men and went on board the ship we have mentioned.His intention was to go to Hispaniola, not only to recover from thewound in his hip, but also to learn the causes of Enciso's delay. Hepromised his companions to return in less than fifty days. Out of thethree hundred there only remained about sixty men, for the others hadeither perished of hunger or had been slain by the natives. Pizarroand his men pledged themselves to remain at their posts until hisreturn within fifty days bringing provisions and reinforcements. Whenthe established time elapsed, finding themselves reduced by famine,they boarded the brigantines and abandoned Uraba.

[Note 6: Pizarro was far from being a nobleman, his mother being apeasant woman and his father the captain Gonzalo Pizarro.]

During their journey to Hispaniola a tempest overtook them on the highseas, which wrecked one of the brigantines with all its crew; andthe survivors relate that they distinctly saw, circling round thebrigantine, a gigantic fish which smashed the rudder to pieces with ablow of its tail. Gigantic sea monsters certainly do exist in thosewaters. Without a rudder and buffeted by the storm, the brigantinesank not far from the coast of the island, named La Fuerte, which lieshalf way between Uraba and Carthagena. The remaining brigantine whichoutrode the storm, was repulsed from the island by the natives whorushed from every direction armed with bows and arrows.

Pursuing his course, Pizarro encountered by chance the bachelor Encisobetween the bay of Carthagena and the country called Cuchibacoa, whichlies at the mouth of the river the Spaniards have named Boiugatti orcathouse, because it was there they first saw a cat, and _boiu_ means_house_ in the language of Hispaniola.

Enciso had one vessel laden with all kinds of provisions, foodstuffs,and clothing, and he was followed by a brigantine. He it was whoseship Hojeda had awaited with impatience. He had left Hispaniola onthe ides of September, and four days later had recognised the loftymountains Columbus had first discovered in this region and which theyhad named La Sierra Nevada, because of their perpetual snows. On thefifth day out he passed the Boca de la Sierpe. Men who went on boardhis brigantine told him that Hojeda had returned to Hispaniola, butthinking they lied, Enciso ordered them by virtue of his authorityas a judge, to return to the country whence they had come. Theyobediently followed Enciso, but nevertheless implored him at least togrant them the favour of allowing them to return to Hispaniola or toconduct them himself to Nicuesa, promising in exchange for his goodservices twenty-six drachmas of gold; for though they were in want ofbread, they were rich in gold. Enciso was deaf to their entreaties,and affirmed that it was impossible for him to land anywhere but atUraba, the province of Hojeda, and it was thither, guided by them,that he directed his course.

Listen, however, to what happened to this judge, and perhaps, MostHoly Father, you will find it worth remembering. Enciso anchored offthe coast of Caramairiana in the harbour of Carthagena, celebrated forthe chastity and grace of its women, and the courage of both sexes ofthe inhabitants. As he approached to renew his supply of water and torepair the ship's boat, which had been damaged, he ordered some men toland. They were at once surrounded by a multitude of natives, all ofwhom were armed and who, for three days, watched their labours mostattentively, fairly besieging them. During this time neither theSpaniards nor the natives engaged in hostilities, although theyremained face to face during three entire days, both on their guardand watching one another. The Spaniards continued their work, thesoldiers protecting the carpenters.

During this period of suspense, two Spaniards went to fill a vesselwith water at the river's mouth, and, more quickly than I can writeit, a native chief and ten soldiers surrounded them, pointing theirarrows on them but not shooting, contenting themselves with glaringat them ferociously. One of the Spaniards fled, but the other stoodtrembling in his tracks, and by invectives called back his companion.He spoke to the enemy in their own tongue, which he had learned fromone of the captives captured elsewhere, and they, surprised at hearingtheir language in the mouth of a stranger, were mollified and answeredwith gentle words. The soldier assured them that he and his friendswere merely strangers passing through, and he was astonished that theydrove the ships from the coast, along which they were sailing. Heaccused them of inhumanity, and threatened them with dire misfortunesdid they not abandon their design; for he assured them that unlessthey not only laid down their arms but received the Spaniards withhonour, other armed strangers, more numerous than the sands, wouldarrive and ravage their country. Enciso was informed that two soldiershad been seized by natives, but suspecting a trap he ordered hissoldiers to carry their shields to protect themeselves from thepoisoned arrows and, hastily forming them in order of battle, he ledthem towards those who held the prisoners. A sign from the soldier,begging him to stop, caused him to call a halt, and, at the same time,the other soldier whom he summoned told him that everything was goingon well and that the Indians desired peace, since they had discoveredthat they were not the men who had sacked the village on the oppositecoast, destroyed and burned another village in the interior, andcarried off prisoners. This alluded to Hojeda's troops. The nativeshad come intending to avenge this outrage, but they had no intentionof attacking innocent men, for they declared it was infamous to attackanyone who did not attack them. The natives laid down their bows andarrows, and received the Spaniards amicably, giving them salted fishand bread. They also filled their barrels with a certain brew madefrom native fruits and grain, which was almost as good as wine.

After concluding a peace with the people of Caramairi who, in responseto the summons of their cacique, assembled in a great crowd, Encisoleft for Uraba, passing by the island La Fuerte. He had one hundredand fifty new soldiers on his ship, to replace those who were dead. Hecarried twelve horses and swine, both male and female, for propagatingthe species in that region. He was provided with fifty cannon and agood supply of lances, shields, swords, and other fighting material.Nothing, however, of all he brought saw service; for as he was aboutto enter the port, the captain of the ship who was acting as pilot,drove it upon a sandy reef and the unfortunate vessel was overwhelmedby the waves, and shattered. Its entire contents were lost. What apitiful sight! Of all the provisions they only saved twelve barrelsof flour, a few cheeses, and a small quantity of biscuit. All theiranimals were drowned, and the men, almost naked, with some of theirweapons, were saved by the brigantine and the ship's boat. Thus fromone misfortune to another they were reduced to extreme peril of theirlives, and thought no more about gold.

Behold them, therefore, alive and safe in view of the land they haddesired with their whole hearts. It was necessary, first of all, tofind some means of subsistence, for men do not live on air, and asthey had nothing of their own, they took what belonged to others. Onehappy resource lightened their misfortunes; for they found a palmgrove not far from the coast, between which and the neighbouringswamps there wandered herds of wild swine. They lived, therefore, forsome time on the flesh of these animals, which are said to be smallerthan ours and have such a short tail it appears to have been cut off.Their feet are also different from those of our wild boars, for thehind feet have only one toe and no hoof. Their flesh is much moresucculent and wholesome than that of our wild boars.

The Spaniards likewise ate fruits and roots of a variety of palms,called cabbage palms, such as are eaten in the interior of Andalusia,and of whose leaves brooms are made in Rome. Besides this they foundother fruits in the country, though most of them, even the plums, werenot yet ripe and were somewhat hard and red in colour. I assume thatthese were the variety I ate in the month of April in Alexandria,where they grew on trees, which the Jews, who are versed in the Mosaiclaw, claim to be the cedar of Lebanon. They are edible and sweetthough not without a trace of bitterness, resembling the fruit ofcrab-apple trees. The natives plant this tree in their gardens inplace of peach, cherry, and other similar trees, and cultivate it withthe greatest care. In size, the character of its trunk and its leaves,it closely resembles the jujube tree.

When the wild boar gave out, the Spaniards were obliged to takethought for the future, so they marched their troops into theinterior. The inhabitants of Caribana country are very skilful in theuse of bows and arrows. The troop of Enciso consisted of a body of ahundred men.[7] They encountered three naked savages who, without theslightest fear, attacked them. The natives wounded four with poisonedarrows and killed some others, after which, their quivers beingexhausted, they fled with the rapidity of the wind, for they areextremely agile. In their flight they hurled insults at the Spaniards,and they never shot an arrow that failed to hit its mark. Muchdepressed and inclined to abandon the country, the Spaniards returnedto their point of departure, where they found the natives haddestroyed the blockhouse built by Hojeda, and burned the villageof thirty houses as soon as Francisco Pizarro and his companions,deserted by Hojeda, abandoned it.

Their exploration of the country convinced the Spaniards that theeastern part of Uraba was richer and more fertile than the western.They therefore divided their forces and, with the assistance of abrigantine, transported one half of their people thither, the otherhalf remaining on the eastern coast. The gulf is twenty-four mileslong, growing narrower as it penetrates inland. Many rivers flow intothe Gulf of Uraba, one of which, called the Darien,[8] they say, ismore fortunate than the Nile.

[Note 8: The name _Darien_ applies to the eastern part of theisthmus of Panama, extending from the Gulf of San Miguel to that ofUraba. The river bearing the same name forms a large estuary in theGulf of San Miguel.]

The Spaniards decided to settle upon its green banks where fruit treesgrow. The river bed is narrow and its current sluggish. The peoplealong the banks were much amazed to see the brigantine, so much largerthan their own barques, under full sail. Getting rid of their womenand non-fighting men, and donning their fighting equipment, about fivehundred of them advanced against the Spaniards, taking up a positionupon a lofty hillock. The Spaniards, commanded by Enciso, who wasjudge in the name of Hojeda, prepared for the conflict. Firstkneeling, general and soldiers together prayed God to give them thevictory. They bound themselves by a vow to make votive offerings ofgold and silver to the statue of the Blessed Virgin, known in Sevilleby the name of Santa Maria della Antigua, vowing to make a pilgrimageto her sanctuary, to name in her honour the village they might found,and to build a church sacred to her or to transform the house of thecacique into a church. They also took a vow not to retreat before theenemy.

At a given signal they cheerfully armed themselves; carrying theirshields on their left arms, brandishing their halberds, they chargedupon the enemy who, being naked, could not resist the attack for long,and consequently fled, their cacique, Zemaco, at their head. Promptlytaking possession of the village, our men found an abundance of nativefood and assuaged their immediate hunger. There was bread made ofroots and bread made of grain, such as we have described in our firstbook; also fruits bearing no resemblance to any of ours and which theypreserve, much as we do chestnuts and similar fruits.

The men of this country go naked, the women cover the middle of theirbody with cotton draperies from the navel downwards. Winter's rigoursare unknown. The mouth of the Darien is only eight degrees distantfrom the equator, thus the difference in length between night and dayis hardly noticeable. Although the natives are ignorant of astronomythey had remarked this fact. Moreover, it is of small importancewhether these measures are or are not different from those they give,for in any case the differences are insignificant.

The next day, the Spaniards ascended the river and about a miledistant they found very dense forests and woods, in which theysuspected the natives were either hiding or had their treasureconcealed. They searched the thickets carefully; keeping alwayson their guard against a surprise they moved under cover of theirshields. Nobody was found in the thickets, but there was a quantity ofgold and effects, coverlets woven of silk and of cotton, such as theItalians call _bombasio_ and the Spanish _algodon_; utensils, bothof wood and terra-cotta, gold and copper ornaments and necklaces,amounting in all to about one hundred and two pounds. The nativesprocure these gold necklaces, which they themselves work with greatcare, in exchange for their own products, for it usually happens thata country rich in cereals is devoid of gold. On the other hand, wheregold and other metals are common, the country is usually mountainous,rocky, and arid; it is by exchanging products that commercialrelations are established. The Spaniards derived satisfaction andencouragement from two sources: they had found plenty of gold, andchance had led them into an agreeable and fertile region. Theyimmediately summoned their companions, who had been left on theeastern shore of the Gulf of Uraba, to join them. Nevertheless, somepeople allege that the climate is not very healthy, since the countryconsists of a deep valley, surrounded by mountains and swamps.

BOOK II

You are aware, Most Holy Father, of where those Spaniards under thecommand of Hojeda had resolved to settle, having received from theSpanish sovereigns authorisation to colonise the vast regions ofUraba. Leaving for a moment these colonists let us return to Nicuesa,who was in command of the great province of Veragua.

I have already related how he had overstepped the limits of thejurisdiction of his partner and friend Hojeda, and had sailed with onecaravel and two brigantines for Veragua. The largest of these vesselshad been left behind with orders to follow him, but this proved a mostunfortunate inspiration, for Nicuesa lost sight of his companionsin the darkness and, sailing too far, went beyond the mouths of theVeragua for which he was looking. Lopez de Olano, a Catalonian, whowas in command of one of the largest of the vessels, learned from thenatives while he followed in the track of Nicuesa that his commanderhad left the Gulf of Veragua to the east. He therefore promptly turnedabout and sailed to meet the commander of another brigantine which hadlikewise got out of its course during the night. This brigantine wascommanded by Pedro de Umbria. Rejoicing at thus meeting, the twocaptains consulted as to what they should do, trying to imagine whatcourse Nicuesa could have taken. On reflection they thought that he(Nicuesa), being chief commander of the expedition, must have haddifferent indications concerning the exact location of Veragua thanthey, who were simple volunteers, and only sought to rejoin theirleader. They laid their course towards Veragua, and at a distance ofsixteen miles found a river, discovered by Columbus and called by himLos Lagartos, because a number of these animals, called in Spanish_lagartos_, in Latin _lacertos_[1] were found there. These creaturesare as dangerous to men and to other animals as are the crocodiles ofthe Nile. At that place they met their companions who had anchoredtheir large vessels after receiving the leader's orders to proceed.Much disturbed by the possible consequences of Nicuesa's blunder, theships' captains consulted together and decided to adopt the opinion ofthe captains of the brigantines which had coasted along very near tothe shores of Veragua; they therefore sailed for that port. Veragua isa local name given to a river which has rich gold deposits; and fromthe river, the name extends to the entire region. The large vesselsanchored at the mouth of the river and landed all the provisions bymeans of the ships' boats. Lopez de Olano was chosen governor in placeof Nicuesa who was thought to be lost.

[Note 1: Lizards, by which are doubtless meant alligators.]

Acting upon the advice of Lopez and other officers, the ships rendereduseless by age were abandoned to be destroyed by the waves; thisdecision was likewise adopted to encourage serious projects ofcolonisation by cutting off all hope of escape. With the more solidtimbers and with beams cut from the trees, which in that neighbourhoodsometimes attain an extraordinary height and size, the Spaniards builta new caravel to provide for unforeseen wants.

When the captain of one of the brigantines, Pedro de Umbria, reachedVeragua, a catastrophe befell. Being a man of irritable disposition,he resolved to separate from his companions and seek a region where hemight establish himself independently. He selected twelve sailors anddeparted in the largest ship's boat belonging to one of the greatervessels. The tide rolls in on that coast with as dreadful roarings asthose which are described as prevailing at Scylla in Sicily, dashingthemselves against the rocks projecting into the sea, from which theyare thrown back with great violence, causing an agitation which theSpaniards call _resacca_.[2] Umbria's boat was caught in a whirlpoollike a mountain torrent which, despite his efforts, dashed him intothe sea and sunk his barque before the eyes of his companions. Onlyone Spaniard, who was a skilful swimmer, succeeded in saving himselfby clutching a rock which rose slightly above the waters, and thereheld out against the raging tempest. The next day when the sea hadabated and the tide had left the reef dry, he rejoined his companions,and the eleven others perished. The other Spaniards did not venture totake to their barques but landed direct from the brigantines.

[Note 2: Meaning the undertow of surf.]

After a stop of a few days they ascended the river, and found somenative villages, called in the language of the country _mumu_. Theyset to work to construct a fort on the bank, and as the country roundabout seemed sterile, they sowed, as in Europe, a valley of which thesoil seemed apt for cultivation. While these things were happening inVeragua, one of the Spaniards, who was stationed on a high rock whichserved as a lookout, casting his eyes to the west, cried "A sail! asail!" As the ship approached it was seen to be a barque under fullsail. The newcomers were joyfully welcomed. The boat turned out to bea barque belonging to the caravel of Nicuesa, which could only carryfive persons; but as a matter of fact there were only three men onboard. These men had stolen the barque because Nicuesa had refused tobelieve them when they assured him that he had passed beyond Veragua,leaving that place behind him to the east. Seeing that Nicuesa and hismen were perishing of hunger, they resolved to try their fortunes inthat barque, and to attempt to discover Veragua by themselves, andthey had succeeded. They described Nicuesa as wandering aimlessly,after having lost his caravel in a storm, and that he was practicallylost among salt marshes and desert coasts, being destitute ofeverything and reduced to a most miserable plight, since for seventydays he had eaten nothing but herbs and roots and drunk nothing butwater, of which indeed he had not always enough. This all came aboutbecause, in seeking Veragua, he persisted in his course towards thewest.

The country had already been reconnoitred by that great discovererof vast regions, Christopher Columbus, who had given it the name of_Gracias a Dios_; in the native tongue it was called _Cerabaro_. Theriver which the Spaniards call San Mateo divides it into two portions,and it is distant about one hundred and thirty miles from westernVeragua. I do not give the native names of this river or of otherlocalities, because the explorers who have returned to Spain do notthemselves know them. The report of these three sailors prompted Pedrode Olano, one of Nicuesa's two captains and his deputy judge, to sendone of the brigantines piloted by the same sailors, to find and bringback Nicuesa. Upon his arrival, Nicuesa ordered Olano, who had beenappointed governor pending his return, to be put into irons, andimprisoned, accusing him of treason for having usurped the authorityof governor and not having concerned himself sufficiently, whileenjoying the command, about the disappearance of his chief. Helikewise accused him of negligence in sending so late to search forhim.

In like manner Nicuesa reproached everybody in arrogant terms, andwithin a few days he commanded that they should make ready to depart.The colonists begged him not to decide hastily, and to wait at leastuntil the crops that they had sown were harvested, as the harvestingseason was now at hand. Four months had now passed since they hadsown. Nicuesa refused to listen to anything, declaring they must leavesuch an unfortunate country as quickly as possible. He thereforecarried off everything that had been landed at the Gulf of Veragua,and ordered the ships to sail towards the east. After sailing sixteenmiles a young Genoese, called Gregorio, recognised the vicinity ofa certain harbour, to prove which he declared that they would findburied in the sand an anchor which had been abandoned there, and undera tree near to the harbour, a spring of clear water. Upon landing theyfound the anchor and the spring, and gave thanks for the excellentmemory of Gregorio, who, alone amongst the numerous sailors who hadsailed these seas together with Columbus, remembered anything aboutthese particulars. Columbus had named this place Porto Bello.

Hunger induced them to land at several places, and everywhere theirreception by the natives was hostile. The Spaniards were now reducedby famine to such a state of weakness that they could no longer fightagainst natives, even naked ones, who offered the least resistance.Twenty of them died from wounds of poisoned arrows. It was decided toleave one half of the company at Porto Bello, and with the other halfNicuesa continued his voyage eastwards. Twenty-eight miles from PortoBello and near a cape which Columbus had formerly called Marmor, hedecided to found a fort, but the want of food had too much reducedthe strength of his men to permit this labour. Nicuesa neverthelesserected a small tower, sufficient to withstand the first attacks ofthe natives, which he called Nombre de Dios. From the day he had leftVeragua, not only during his march across the sandy plains but alsobecause of the famine which prevailed while he was constructing thetower, he lost two hundred of the men who still survived. Thus it wasthat, little by little, his numerous company of seven hundred andeighty-five men was reduced to about one hundred.

While Nicuesa, with a handful of wretched creatures, struggled inthis manner against ill fortune, rivalry for the command broke out inUraba. A certain Vasco Nunez Balboa[3] who, in the opinion of mostpeople, was a man of action rather than of judgment, stirred uphis companions against the judge Enciso, declaring that the latterpossessed no royal patents giving him judicial powers. The fact of hisbeing chosen by Hojeda to act as governor was not enough. He succeededin impeding Enciso in his functions, and the colonists of Uraba chosesome of their own men to administer the colony; but dissension was notlong in dividing them, especially when their leader Hojeda did notreturn. They thought the latter dead, of his wound, and disputed amongthemselves as to whether they should not summon Nicuesa to take hisplace. Some influential members of the council who had been friends ofNicuesa and could not endure the insolence of Vasco Nunez thought theyought to scour the country in search of Nicuesa; for they had heard itreported that he had abandoned Uraba on account of the barrenness ofthe soil. Possibly he was wandering in unknown places like Enciso andother victims of wrecks; therefore they should not rest until they haddiscovered whether he and his associates still lived.

[Note 3: Balboa was of a noble family of Xeres de los Caballeros,and was born in 1475. He came to Hispaniola in 1500, where he sufferedextreme poverty. He went on board Enciso's vessel as a stowaway.]

Vasco Nunez, who feared to be deposed from his command on the arrivalof Nicuesa, treated those who still believed that the latter lived, asfoolish. Moreover, even were the fact proven, they had no need of him,for did they not possess as good a title as Nicuesa? Opinions werethus divided, when the captain of two large vessels, Roderigo deColmenares, arrived bringing a reinforcement of sixty men, a quantityof foodstuffs, and clothing.

I must recount some particulars of the voyage of Colmenares. It wasabout the ides of October in the year 1510 that Colmenares sailed fromBeata, the port of Hispaniola, where expeditions are usually fittedout. The nones of November he reached the coast of that immensecountry of Paria, between the port of Carthagena and the district ofCuchibacoa, discovered by Columbus. He suffered equally during thisvoyage from the attacks of the natives and from the fury of the sea.Being short of water, he stopped at the mouth of the river called bythe natives Gaira, which was large enough for his ships to enter. Thisriver has different sources on a lofty snow-covered mountain, whichRoderigo's companions declared to be the highest they had ever seen.This statement must be true, since the snow lay upon a mountain whichis not more than ten degrees distant from the equator. A shallop wassent ashore at the Gaira to fill the water barrels, and while thesailors were engaged in this task they saw a cacique accompanied bytwenty of his people approaching. Strange to behold, he was dressed incotton clothing, and a cloak, held in place by a band, fell fromhis shoulders to the elbow. He also wore another trailing tunic offeminine design. The cacique advanced and amicably advised our mennot to take water at that particular place, because it was of poorquality; he showed them close at hand another river of which thewaters were more wholesome. The Spaniards repaired to the riverindicated by the cacique, but were prevented by the bad state of thesea from finding its bottom, for the sands fairly bubbled as it were,which indicated that the sea was full of reefs. They were obliged,therefore, to come back to the first river, where at least they couldsafely anchor. Here the cacique disclosed his treacherous intentions,for while our men were engaged in filling their barrels, he fellupon them, followed by seven hundred naked men, armed in the nativefashion, only he and his officers wearing clothing. He seized thebarque, which he smashed to pieces, and in a twinkling the forty-sevenSpaniards were pierced with arrow-wounds, before they could protectthemselves with their shields. There was but one man who survived, allthe rest perishing from the effects of the poison. No remedy againstthis kind of poison was then known, and it was only later that theislanders of Hispaniola revealed it; for there exists an herb inHispaniola of which the juice, if administered in time, counteractsthe poison of the arrows. Seven other Spaniards escaped the massacre,and took refuge in the trunk of a gigantic tree hollowed by age, wherethey concealed themselves till night. But they did not for that reasonescape, for at nightfall the ship of Colmenares sailed away, leavingthem to their fate, and it is not known what became of them.

Lest I should weary you if I related all the particulars, Most HolyFather, I omit mention of the thousand perilous adventures throughwhich Colmenares finally reached the Gulf of Uraba. He anchored offthe eastern coast, which is sterile, and from that point he rejoinedhis compatriots on the opposite bank several days later. The silenceeverywhere amazed him; for he had expected to find his comrades inthose parts. Mystified by this state of things, he wondered whetherthe Spaniards were still alive or whether they had settled elsewhere;and he chose an excellent means for obtaining information. He loadedall his cannon and mortars to the muzzle with bullets and powder, andhe ordered fires to be lighted on the tops of the hills. The cannonwere all fired together, and their tremendous detonation made the veryearth about the Gulf of Uraba shake. Although they were twenty-fourmiles distant, which is the width of the gulf, the Spaniards heard thenoise, and seeing the flames they replied by similar fires. Guidedby these lights Colmenares ordered his ships to cross to the westernshore. The colonists of Darien were in a miserable plight, and afterthe shipwreck of the judge Enciso it was only by the greatest effortsthey had managed to exist. With hands raised to heaven and eyesoverflowing with tears of mingled joy and sadness, they welcomedColmenares and his companions with what enthusiasm their wretchedstate allowed. Food and clothing were distributed to them, since theywere almost naked. It only remains, Most Holy Father, to describe theinternal dissensions which broke out among the colonists of Uraba overthe succession to the command, after they had lost their leaders.

BOOK III

The chief colonists of Uraba and all the friends of order decided torecall Nicuesa from wherever he was, and as the judge, Enciso, wasopposed to this measure, they deprived him of the brigantine he hadbuilt at his own expense. Contrary to his will and against that ofVasco Nunez, the adventurer, they decided to go in search of Nicuesain order that he might settle the dispute about the commandership.Colmenares, whom I have mentioned above, was commanded to search alongthose coasts where it was thought Nicuesa wandered abandoned. It wasknown that the latter had left Veragua, because of the sterility ofthe soil. The colonists instructed Colmenares to bring Nicuesa back assoon as he could find him and to assure him they would be grateful tohim if, on his arrival, he succeeded in calming the dissensions whichrent the colony. Colmenares accepted this mission, for he was apersonal friend of Nicuesa, and boldly announced that the provisionshe had brought were intended as much for Nicuesa as for the colonistsof Uraba. He, therefore, fitted out one of his ships and thebrigantine, which had been taken from Enciso, loading them with apart of the provisions he had brought. He coasted carefully along theneighbouring shores, and finally came upon Nicuesa engaged in buildinghis tower on Cape Marmor.

Nicuesa was the most wretched of men, reduced to a skeleton, coveredwith rags. There remained barely sixty of the seven hundred and morecompanions who had started with him, and the survivors were more tobe pitied than the dead. Colmenares comforted his friend Nicuesa,embracing him with tears, cheering him with words of hope for a changeof fortune and speedy success. He reminded him that the best elementof the colonists of Uraba wished for his return, because his authorityalone could quiet the dissensions which raged. Thanking his friend, asbecame the situation, Nicuesa sailed with him for Uraba.

It is a common thing to observe amongst men that arrogance accompaniessuccess. After having wept and sighed and poured out complaints forhis miseries, after having overwhelmed his rescuer, Colmenares, withthanks and almost rolled at his feet, Nicuesa, when the fear ofstarvation was removed, began, even before he had seen the colonistsof Uraba, to talk airily of his projects of reform and his intentionto get possession of all the gold there was. He said that no one hadthe right to keep back any of the gold, without his authorisation, orthat of his associate Hojeda. These imprudent words reached the earsof the colonists of Uraba, and roused against Nicuesa the indignationof the partisans of Enciso, Hojeda's deputy judge, and that of Nunez.It therefore fell out that Nicuesa, with sixty companions, hadhardly landed, so it is reported, before the colonists forced him tore-embark, overwhelming him with threats. The better intentioned ofthe colonists were displeased at this demonstration, but fearing arising of the majority headed by Vasco Nunez, they did not interfere.Nicuesa was therefore obliged to regain the brigantine, and thereremained with him only seventeen of his sixty companions. It was thecalends of March in the year 1511 when Nicuesa set sail, intending toreturn to Hispaniola and there complain of the usurpation of VascoNunez and the violent treatment offered the judge, Enciso.

He sailed in an evil hour and no news was ever again heard of thatbrigantine. It is believed the vessel sank, and that all the men weredrowned. However that may be, Nicuesa plunged from one calamity intoanother, and died even more miserably than he had lived.

After the shameful expulsion of Nicuesa, the colonists consumed theprovisions Colmenares had brought, and soon, driven by hunger, theywere forced to plunder the neighbourhood of the colony like wolves ofthe forest. A troop of about one hundred and thirty men was formedunder the leadership of Vasco Nunez, who organised them like a bandof brigands. Puffed up by vanity, he sent a guard in advance, and hadothers to accompany and follow him. He chose Colmenares[1] as hisassociate and companion. From the outset of this expedition hedetermined to seize everything he could find in the territory of theneighbouring caciques, and he began by marching along the shore ofthe district of Coiba, of which we have already spoken. Summoning thecacique of that district, Careca, of whom the Spaniards had never hadreason to complain, he haughtily and threateningly ordered him tofurnish provisions for his men. The cacique Careca answered that itwas impossible, because he had already at different times helpedthe Christians and consequently his own provisions were well-nighexhausted. Moreover, in consequence of a long-drawn-out war with aneighbouring cacique called Poncha, he was himself reduced to want.The adventurer admitted none of these reasons, and the wretched Carecasaw his town sacked. He himself was put in irons and brought with histwo wives, his sons and all his familia to Darien.[2] In the house ofCareca they found three of Nicuesa's companions, who, when his shipswere at anchor, during his search for Veragua, had deserted himbecause they feared to be tried for certain crimes. As soon as thefleet sailed away, they took refuge with Careca who received themamicably. Eighteen months had elapsed since that time, so they wereas naked as the natives, but plump as the capons women fatten in darkplaces, for they had lived well at the cacique's table during thatperiod; nor did they concern themselves about _meum_ and _tuum_, oras to who gave and who received, which is the cause of the crimes ofviolence that shorten human life.

[Note 1: The memoir of Colmenares on this expedition is containedin Navarrete's _Coleccion de Viajes_, tom. iii., pp. 386-393. AlsoBalboa's letter to King Ferdinand in the same volume.]

[Note 2: Balboa's description of his treatment of the natives,which he penned to the King, is just the contrary. He prides himselfon having won their friendship, and ascribes to their affection forhim his success in discovering the treasures and secrets of thecountry.]

These Spaniards nevertheless preferred to return to a life ofhardship. Provisions were brought from the village of Careca to thepeople left behind at Darien, for the first consideration was to staveoff the famine that was imminent. Whether before or afterwards I amnot certain, but in any event it was shortly after the expulsion ofNicuesa that quarrels broke out between the judge, Enciso, and VascoNunez, each being supported by his own partisans. Enciso was seized,thrown into prison, and all his goods sold at auction. It was allegedthat he had usurped judicial functions never granted him by the Kingbut merely by Hojeda, who was supposed to be dead, and Vasco Nunezdeclared that he would not obey a man on whom the King had notconferred authority by a royal patent. He allowed himself, however, tobe influenced by the entreaties of the better colonists and modifiedhis severity, even releasing Enciso from his chains and permitting himto go on board a ship which would carry him to Hispaniola. Before thevessel sailed, some of the better people of the colony sought outEnciso and implored him to come on shore again, promising to effect areconciliation with Vasco Nunez and to reinstate him in his positionof judge. Enciso refused and left; nor are there wanting people whowhispered that God and His Saints had themselves shaped events topunish Enciso for Nicuesa's expulsion, which he had counselled.

Be that as it may, these discoverers of new countries ruined andexhausted themselves by their own folly and civil strife, failingabsolutely to rise to the greatness expected of men who accomplishsuch wonderful things. Meanwhile it was decided by common agreementamong the colonists to send their representatives to the youngAdmiral,[3] son and heir of Columbus, the first discoverer, who wasviceroy of Hispaniola, and to the other government officials of theisland. These envoys were to solicit reinforcements and a code of lawsfor the new colonies. They were to explain the true situation, theactual poverty of the colonists, the discoveries already made, and allthat might still be hoped for, if the officials would only send themsupplies. Vasco Nunez chose for this office one of his adherents,Valdivia, the same who had prosecuted the suit against Enciso.Associated with him was a Catalonian, called Zamudio. It was agreedthat Valdivia should return with provisions from Hispaniola, when hismission was accomplished, and that Zamudio should proceed to Spainand see the King. Both left the same time as Enciso, but it was thelatter's intention to present a memorial to the King contradicting therepresentations of Valdivia and Zamudio. Both these men came to see meat Court, and I will elsewhere recount what they told me.

[Note 3: Diego, son of Christopher Columbus and his wife, DonaMoniz de Perestrello. He was married to Dona Maria de Toledo.]

During this time the wretched colonists of Darien liberated thecacique of Coiba, Careca, and even agreed to serve as his alliesduring a campaign against the cacique called Poncha, who was aneighbour of Careca on the continent. Careca agreed to supply theSpaniards with food, and to join them with his family and subjects.The only arms these natives used were bows and poisoned arrows, as wehave already described was the case amongst those in the eastern partbeyond the gulf. As they have no iron, they use in hand-to-hand combatlong wooden swords, which they call _machanas_. They likewise usepointed sticks hardened in the fire, bone-tipped javelins, and otherprojectiles. The campaign with Poncha began immediately after they hadsown their fields as well as they could. Careca acted both as guideand commander of the vanguard. When his town was attacked Ponchafled, and the village and its surroundings were sacked. Thanks to thecacique's provisions, nothing was to be feared from hunger, but noneof these supplies could be taken to the colonists who remained behind,for the distance between Darien and Poncha's village was more than ahundred miles, and everything had to be carried on men's backs to thenearest coast where the ships, which had been brought by the Spaniardsto Careca's village, were lying. A few pounds of wrought gold, in theform of divers necklaces, were obtained; after ruining Poncha, theSpaniards returned to their ships, deciding to leave the caciques ofthe interior in peace and to confine their attacks to those along thecoast.

Not far distant, in the same direction from Coiba, lies a countrycalled Comogra, whose cacique is named Comogre, and against him theSpaniards delivered their next attack. His town stands at the foot ofthe other side of the neighbouring mountain chain, in a fertile plainsome twelve leagues in extent. A relative of one of Careca's principalofficers, who had quarrelled with him, had taken refuge with Comogre.This man was called Jura, and acted as intermediary between theSpaniards and Comogre, whose friendship he secured for them. Jura wasvery well known to the Spaniards ever since Nicuesa's expedition,and it was he who had received those three deserters from Nicuesa'scompany in his own house during their stay. When peace was concluded,the Spaniards repaired to the palace of Comogre, which lies somethirty leagues distant from Darien, but not in a direct line, for theintervening mountains obliged them to make long detours. Comogre hadseven sons from different women, all handsome children or young men,wearing no clothes. His palace was formed of beams cut from the trees,and securely fastened together. It was further strengthened by stonewalls. The Spaniards estimated the dimensions of this palace at onehundred and fifty paces the length and eighty paces the breadth. Itsceilings were carved and the floors were artistically decorated. Theynoticed a storehouse filled with native provisions of the country,and a cellar stacked with earthenware barrels and wooden kegs, as inSpain, or Italy. These receptacles contained excellent wine, not ofthe kind made from grapes, for they have no vineyards, but such asthey make from three kinds of roots and the grain they use for makingbread, called, as we have said in our first book, yucca, ages, andmaize; they likewise use the fruit of the palm-trees. The Germans,Flemings and English, as well as the Spanish mountaineers in theBasque provinces and the Asturias, and the Austrians, Swabians, andSwiss in the Alps make beer from barley, wheat, and fruits in the samemanner. The Spaniards report that at Comogra they drank white and redwines of different flavours.

Attend now, Sovereign Pontiff, to another and horrifying sight. Uponentering the cacique's inner apartments the Spaniards found a roomfilled with bodies suspended in cotton ropes. They inquired the motiveof this superstitious custom, and were informed that they were thebodies of the ancestors of Comogre, which were preserved with greatcare, according to the rank they had occupied in life; respect for thedead being part of their religion. Golden masks decorated with stoneswere placed upon their faces, just as ancient families rendered homageto the _Penates_. In my first book I explained how they dry thesebodies by stretching them on grid-irons with a slow fire beneath, insuch a way that they are reduced to skin and bone.

The eldest of the seven sons of Comogre was a young man ofextraordinary intelligence. In his opinion it was wiser to treat thoseSpanish vagabonds kindly, and to avoid furnishing them any pretextfor the violent acts they had committed on neighbouring tribes. Hetherefore presented four thousand drachmas of wrought gold and seventyslaves to Vasco Nunez and Colmenares, as they were the leaders.These natives sell and exchange whatever articles they need amongstthemselves, and have no money. The Spaniards were engaged in thevestibule of Comogre, weighing his gold and another almost equalquantity they had obtained elsewhere. They wished to set aside thefifth belonging to the royal treasury; for it has been decided thatthe fifth part of all gold, silver, and precious stones shall be setaside for the King's agents. The remainder is divided according toagreement. Several disputes arose among the Spaniards regarding theirshares. The eldest son of Comogre, the wise youth, who was present,struck the scales with his fist and scattered the gold in alldirections, and calling our men's attention he spoke in choicelanguage as follows:

"What thing then is this, Christians? Is it possible that you seta high value upon such a small quantity of gold? You neverthelessdestroy the artistic beauty of these necklaces, melting them intoingots. [For the Spaniards had their smelting instruments with them.]If your thirst of gold is such that in order to satisfy it you disturbpeaceable people and bring misfortune and calamity among them, if youexile yourselves from your country in search of gold, I will show youa country where it abounds and where you can satisfy the thirst thattorments you. But to undertake this expedition you need more numerousforces, for you will have to conquer powerful rulers, who will defendtheir country to the death. More than all others, the King Tumanamawill oppose your advance, for his is the richest kingdom of all.It lies six suns distant from ours [they count the days by suns];moreover you will encounter Carib tribes in the mountains, fiercepeople who live on human flesh, are subject to no law, and have nofixed country. They conquered the mountaineers for they coveted thegold mines, and for this reason they abandoned their own country.They transform the gold they obtain by the labour of the wretchedmountaineers into wrought leaves and different articles such as thoseyou see, and by this means they obtain what they want. They haveartisans and jewellers who produce these necklaces. We place nomore value on rough gold than on a lump of clay, before it has beentransformed by the workman's hand into a vase which pleases our tasteor serves our need. These Caribs also make artistic potteries which weobtain in exchange for the products of our harvests, as for exampleour prisoners of war, whom they buy for food, or our stuffs anddifferent articles of furniture. We also furnish them with thesupplies they need; for they live in the mountains. Only by force ofarms could this mountain district be penetrated. Once on the otherside of those mountains," he said, indicating with his finger anothermountain range towards the south, "another sea which has never beensailed by your little boats [meaning the caravels] is visible. Thepeople there go naked and live as we do, but they use both sails andoars. On the other side of the watershed the whole south slope of themountain chain is very rich in gold mines."

Such was his speech, and he added that the cacique Tumanama, and allthe mountaineers living on the other slope of the mountain, usedkitchen and other common utensils made of gold; "for gold," he said,"has no more value among them than iron among you." From what he hadheard from the Spaniards he knew the name of the metal used for swordsand other arms. Our leaders were amazed at that naked young man'sdiscourse which, thanks to the three deserters who had been duringeighteen months at the court of Careca, they understood. They took adecision worthy of the moment and, abandoning their wrangling over thegold-weighing, they began to joke and to discuss amiably the words andinformation of the young cacique. They asked him amicably why he hadtold them that story, and what they should do in case reinforcementsdid arrive. The son of Comogre reflected for a moment, as does anorator preparing for a serious debate, even thinking of the bodilymovements likely to convince his hearers, and then spoke again asfollows, always in his own language:

"Listen to me, Christians; we people who go naked are not tormented bycovetousness, but we are ambitious, and we fight one against the otherfor power, each seeking to conquer his neighbour. This, therefore, isthe source of frequent wars and of all our misfortunes. Our ancestorshave been fighting men. Our father, Comogre, likewise fought with hisneighbouring caciques, and we have been both conquerors and conquered.Just as you see prisoners of war amongst us, as for instance thoseseventy captives I have presented to you, so likewise have our enemiescaptured some of our people; for such are the fortunes of war. Hereis one of our servants who was once the slave of the cacique whopossesses such treasures of gold, and is the ruler beyond themountains; there this man dragged out several years of a wretchedexistence. Not only he, but many other prisoners as well as freemen,who have traversed that country and afterwards come amongst us, knowthese particulars as far back as they can remember; neverthelessto convince you of the truth of my information and to allay yoursuspicions, I will myself go as your guide. You may bind me, and youmay hang me to the first tree if you find I have not told you theexact truth. Summon, therefore, a thousand soldiers, well armed forfighting, in order that, by their help, and assisted by the warriorsof my father Comogre armed in their style, we may shatter the power ofour enemies. In this way you will obtain the gold you want, and ourreward for guiding and helping you will be our deliverance fromhostile attacks and from the fear under which our ancestors lived; andwhich destroys our enjoyment of peace."

After speaking thus the wise son of Comogre kept silence; and the loveof gain and the hope of gold fairly made our men's mouths water.

BOOK IV

The Spaniards remained several days in that place, during which theybaptised the cacique Comogre, giving him the name of Charles, afterthe Spanish prince, and likewise all his family with him. They thenrejoined their companions at Darien, promising, however, to send thesoldiers his son desired to assist him in crossing the sierra andreaching the southern ocean. Upon their arrival at their village theylearned that Valdivia had returned six months after his departure butwith very few stores, because his ship was a small one. He did bring,however, the promise of speedy reinforcements and provisions. TheAdmiral-Viceroy and the other government officials of Hispaniolaadmitted that they had thus far taken little thought for the colonistsat Darien, because they supposed the judge, Enciso, had already sailedwith a well-freighted ship. They assured the colonists that for thefuture they would have care for their needs. For the time being theyhad no vessel larger than the one they had lent to Valdivia and whichsufficed to relieve their present wants.

This caravel was, in fact, a caravel in name only, and because ofits form, but not in its capacity. The provisions Valdivia broughtsufficed only for the needs of the moment, and within a few days afterhis arrival the miseries of famine once more began, chiefly becausea waterspout burst from the mountain top, accompanied by terriblelightnings and thunders, and washed down such an amount of rubbishthat the harvests, planted in the month of September before thecampaign against the cacique Comogre began, were either swept away orcompletely buried. They consisted of the grain for bread-making, whichis called in Hispaniola maize, and in Uraba _hobba_. This maize isharvested twice yearly, for the cold of winter is unknown in thiscountry, because of its proximity to the equator. Bread made of hobbaor maize is preferable to wheaten bread for those who live in thisregion, because it is more easily digested. This is in conformitywith physical laws, since, as cold diminishes, less inward heat isgenerated.

Their hopes of a harvest being thus defeated, and knowing that theneighbouring caciques had already been stripped of their provisionsand gold, the Spaniards were forced to penetrate into the interior insearch of food. At the same time they sent to inform the officials inHispaniola of their distress, and also of Comogre's revelations tothem about the southern ocean. It was desirable that the King ofSpain should send a thousand soldiers with whom they might cross themountains separating the two seas. Valdivia was sent back with theseletters, and he was charged to deliver to the King's fiscal agent inHispaniola the royal fifth due to the treasury, represented by threehundred pounds of gold, at eight ounces to the pound. This pound iscalled a _marc_ in Spanish, and is composed of fifty gold pieces,called castellanos. The weight of each castellano, a Castilian coin,is called a peso, and the entire sum, therefore, amounted to fifteenthousand castellanos. The castellano is a coin somewhat inferior toone thirtieth of a pound, but its value exceeds that of a goldenducat. This coin is peculiar to Castile, and is not minted in anyother province. It may be concluded, therefore, from the sum assignedfor the royal fifth, that the Spaniards had taken from the caciquesfifteen hundred pounds of gold, at eight ounces to the pound. Theyhad found this metal worked into divers shapes: necklaces collars,bracelets, small plaques to be worn on the breast, and ear or noserings.

On the third day of the ides of January, Anno Domini 1511, Valdiviaset sail on the little caravel with which he had just returned. Inaddition to the instructions sent by Vasco Nunez and the gold destinedfor the royal fisc, which we have mentioned, his friends had confidedto him their treasure for their relatives in Spain. I shall relatein proper time what happened to Valdivia, but for the present let usreturn to the colony at Uraba.

After Valdivia's departure the colonists, driven to desperation byhunger, resolved to explore the outline of the gulf, of which the mostremote extremity is about eighty miles distant from the entrance. Thisextremity is called by the Spaniards Culata.[1]

[Note 1: The southern end of the gulf still bears the name _Culatadel golfo_.]

Vasco Nunez embarked with about one hundred men on board a brigantineand in some native barques dug out of tree trunks, called by theislanders of Hispaniola canoes, and by the people of Uraba, _uru_. Theriver flows into the gulf at that place from the east and is ten timeslarger than the Darien. Up this river the Spaniards sailed for adistance of thirty miles or a little more than nine leagues, andturning to the left, which is towards the south, they came upon anative village, whose cacique was called Dobaiba. In Hispaniola theirkings are called caciques and in Uraba, _chebi_, with the accent onthe last vowel. It was learned that Zemaco, cacique of Darien, who hadbeen defeated by the Spaniards in open battle, had taken refuge withDobaiba. The latter, counselled, as it was thought, by Zemaco, fled,and thus evaded the Spanish attack. The place was deserted, though astock of bows and arrows, some pieces of furniture, nets, and severalfishing boats were found there. These districts being marshy and loware unsuitable both for agriculture and plantations of trees, so thereare few food products, and the natives only procure these by tradingwhat fish they have in excess of their wants with their neighbours.Nevertheless seven thousand castellanos of gold were picked up in thedeserted houses, besides several canoes, about a hundred bows andparcels of arrows, all the furniture, and two native barques or uru.

In the night-time bats swarmed from the marshes formed by thisriver, and these animals, which are as big as pigeons, tormentedthe Spaniards with their painful bites. Those who have been bittenconfirmed this fact, and the judge Enciso who had been expelled, whenasked by me concerning the danger of such bites, told me that onenight, when he slept uncovered because of the heat, he had been bittenby one of these animals on the heel, but that the wound had not beenmore dangerous than one made by any other non-poisonous creature.Other people claim that the bite is mortal, but may be cured by beingwashed immediately with sea-water; Enciso also spoke of the efficacyof this remedy. Cauterisation is also used, as it is employed forwounds caused by native poisoned arrows. Enciso had had experiencein Caribana, where many of his men had been wounded. The Spaniardsreturned to the Gulf of Uraba only partly satisfied, for they hadbrought back no provisions. Such a terrible tempest overtook them inthat immense gulf on their return voyage, that they were obliged tothrow everything they had stolen from those wretched fishermen intothe sea. Moreover the uru, that is to say, the barques, were lost andwith them some of the men on board.

While Vasco Nunez was exploring the southern extremity of the gulf,Roderigo Colmenares advanced, as had been agreed, by way of the riverbed towards the mountains along the eastern coast. At a distance ofabout forty miles, that is to say, twelve leagues from the river'smouth, he came upon some villages built on the river bank; the chief,that is to say, chebi, was named Turvi. Colmenares remained with thatcacique, while Vasco Nunez, who had meanwhile returned to Darien,marched to meet him. When the men of the two companies had beensomewhat recuperated by the provisions which Turvi furnished, theirleaders continued their march together. About forty miles distant theydiscovered an island in the river, which was inhabited by fishermen,and as they found wild cinnamon trees there, they named the islandCannafistula. There were some sixty villages in groups of ten houseseach on this island, and the river on the right side was large enoughboth for the native boats and for the brigantines. This river theSpaniards named Rio Negro.

Fifteen miles from its mouth they found a village composed of fivehundred scattered houses, of which the chebi or cacique was calledAbenamacheios. All the houses were abandoned as soon as the Spaniardsapproached; and while they were pursuing the natives the lattersuddenly turned, faced them, and threw themselves upon our soldierswith the desperation of men driven from their homes. They fought withwooden swords, sticks with hardened points and sharp javelins, but notwith arrows; for the river population of the west side of the gulfdo not use arrows in fighting. These poor creatures, being, in fact,naked, were easily cut to pieces, and in the pursuit, the caciqueAbenamacheios and some of his principal chiefs were captured. Afoot-soldier, who had been wounded by the cacique, cut off his armwith one blow of his sword, though this was done against the will ofthe commanders. The Christians numbered altogether about one hundredand fifty men, and the leaders left one half of them in this village,continuing their way with the others in nine of the barques which Ihave called uru.

Seventy miles distant from Rio Negro and the island of Cannafistula,the Spaniards, passing by several streams on the right and left whichswelled the principal river, entered another under the guidance of anative chief who took charge of the boats. The cacique of the countryalong its banks was called Abibaiba.

All the region was swampy and the chief house of the cacique wasbuilt in a tree. Novel and unaccustomed dwelling place! The country,however, has such lofty trees that the natives may easily build housesamong their branches. We read something of this kind in differentauthors who write of certain tribes who, when the waters are rising,take refuge in these lofty trees and live upon the fish caught intheir branches. They place beams among the branches, joining them sofirmly that they resist the strongest winds. The Spaniards believe thenatives live thus in the trees because inundations are frequent, forthese trees are so tall that no human arm could reach them with astone. I no longer feel surprised at what Pliny and other writersrecord about trees in India which, by reason of the fertility of thesoil and the abundant waters, attain such a height that no one couldshoot an arrow over them. It is, moreover, commonly believed that thesoil of this country and the supply of water are equal to that ofany other land under the sun. The above-named trees were found bymeasuring to be of such a size that seven or eight men, with extendedarms, could hardly reach around them. The natives have cellarsunderground where they keep stores of the wines we have beforementioned. Although the violence of the wind cannot blow down theirhouses or break the branches of the trees, they are still swayed aboutfrom side to side, and this movement would spoil the wine. Everythingelse they require, they keep with them in the trees, and whenever theprincipal chiefs or caciques breakfast or dine, the servants bring upthe wine by means of ladders attached to the tree trunks, and they arejust as quick about it as our servants who, upon a level floor, servedrinks from a sideboard near the table.

Approaching the tree of Abibaiba a discussion began between him andthe Spaniards; the latter offering him peace and begging him to comedown. The cacique refused and begged to be allowed to live in his ownfashion. Promises were succeeded by threats, and he was told that ifhe did not come down with all his family they would either cut down orset fire to the tree. A second time Abibaiba refused, so they attackedthe tree with axes; and when the cacique saw the chips flying hechanged his mind and came down, accompanied by his two sons. Theyproceeded to discuss about peace and gold. Abibaiba declared that hehad no gold, and that as he had never needed it, he had taken nopains to get it. The Spaniards insisting, the cacique said: "Ifyour cupidity be such, I will seek gold for you in the neighbouringmountains and when I find it I will bring it to you; for it is foundin those mountains you behold." He fixed a day when he would return,but neither then nor later did he reappear.

The Spaniards came back, loaded with the supplies and the wines ofthe cacique, but without the gold they had counted upon. NeverthelessAbibaiba, his subjects, and his sons gave the same informationconcerning the gold mines and the Caribs who live upon human flesh,as I have mentioned, as did those at Comogra. They ascended the riveranother thirty miles and came to the huts of some cannibals but foundthem empty, for the savages, alarmed by the approach of the Spaniards,had taken refuge in the mountains, carrying everything they possessedon their backs.

BOOK V

While these things were happening on the banks of this river, anofficer named Raia, whom Vasco Nunez and Colmenares had left incharge of the camp at Rio Negro in the territory of the caciqueAbenamacheios, driven either by hunger or fatality ventured toexplore the neighbourhood with nine of his companions. He went to theneighbouring village belonging to the cacique Abraibes, and there Raiaand two of his companions were massacred by that chief, the otherssucceeding in escaping. Some few days later Abraibes, sympathisingwith his relative and neighbour Abenamacheios, who had beendriven from his house and had had his arm cut off by one of ourfoot-soldiers, gave the latter refuge in his house, after which hesought out Abibaiba, the cacique who lived in a tree. The latter,having been driven from his abode, also avoided attack by theSpaniards and wandered in the most inaccessible regions of themountains and forests.

Abraibes spoke in the following words to Abibaiba: "What is this thatis happening, O unfortunate Abibaiba? What race is this that allowsus, unfortunates that we are, no peace? And for how long shall weendure their cruelty? Is it not better to die than to submit tosuch abuse as you have endured from them? And not only you, but ourneighbours Abenamacheios, Zemaco, Careca, Poncha, and all the othercaciques our friends? They carry off our wives and sons into captivitybefore our very eyes, and they seize everything we possess as thoughit were their booty. Shall we endure this? Me they have not yetattacked, but the experience of others is enough for me, and I knowthat the hour of my ruin is not far distant. Let us then uniteour forces and try to struggle against those who have maltreatedAbenamacheios and driven him from his house, and when these first arekilled the others will fear to attack us, or if they do so, it will bewith diminished numbers, and in any case it will be more endurable forus." After exchanging their views, Abibaiba and Abraibes came to anunderstanding and decided upon a day for beginning their campaign. Butevents were not favourable to them. It so happened by chance that,on the night previous to the day fixed for the attack, thirty of thesoldiers who had crossed the sierra against the cannibals were sentback to relieve the garrison left at Rio Negro, in case of attack, andalso because the Spaniards were suspicious. The caciques rushed intothe village at daybreak with five hundred of their warriors armedin native fashion and shouting wildly. They were ignorant of thereinforcements that had arrived during the night. The soldiersadvanced to meet them, using their shields to protect themselves; andfirst shooting arrows and javelins and afterwards using their nativeswords, they fell upon their enemies. These native people, findingthemselves engaged with more adversaries than they had imagined, wereeasily routed; the majority were killed like sheep in a panic. Thechiefs escaped. All those who were captured were sent as slaves toDarien, where they were put to work in the fields.

After these events, and leaving that region pacified, the Spaniardsdescended the river and returned to Darien, posting a guard of thirtymen, commanded by an officer, Hurtado,[1] to hold that province.Hurtado descended the Rio Negro to rejoin his leader, Vasco Nunez, andhis companions. He was using one of those large native barques and hadwith him twelve companions, a captive woman, and twenty-four slaves.All at once four uru, that is to say, barques dug out of tree trunks,attacked him on the flank, and overturned his boat. The Spaniards hadbeen tranquilly sailing along without dreaming of the possibility ofan attack, and their barque being suddenly overturned all those whomthe natives could catch were massacred or drowned, except two men, whograsped some floating tree trunks and, concealing themselves in thebranches, let themselves drift, unseen by the enemy, and thus managedto rejoin their companions.

Warned of the danger by those two men who had escaped death, theSpaniards became suspicious of everything. They were alarmed for theirsafety, and remembered that they only escaped a similar calamity atRio Negro because they had received the reinforcement of thirty men onthe night before the attack. They held frequent councils of war, butin the midst of their hesitations they reached no decision. Aftercareful investigation they finally learned that five caciques hadfixed a day for the massacre of Christians. These five were: Abibaiba,who lived in the swampy forest; Zemaco, who had been driven from hishome; Abraibes and Abenamacheios, the river chiefs; and Dobaiba, thecacique of the fishermen, living at the extremity of the gulf calledCulata. This plan would have been carried out, and it was only by amiracle, which we are bound to examine with leniency, that chancedisclosed the plot of the caciques. It is a memorable story and I willtell it in a few words.

This Vasco Nunez, a man of action rather than of judgment, was anegregious ruffian, who had obtained authority in Darien by forcerather than by consent of the colonists; amongst the numerous nativewomen he had carried off, there was one of remarkable beauty. One ofher brothers, who was an officer much favoured by the cacique Zemaco,often came to visit her. He likewise had been driven out of hiscountry, but as he loved his sister warmly, he spoke to her inconversation in the following words:

"Listen to me, my dear sister, and keep to yourself what I shall tellyou. The insolence of these men, who expelled us from our homes, issuch that the caciques of the country are resolved no longer to submitto their tyranny. Five caciques [whom he named one after another] havecombined and have collected a hundred uru. Five thousand warriors onland and water are prepared. Provisions have been collected in theprovince of Tichiri, for the maintenance of these warriors, and thecaciques have already divided amongst themselves the heads and theproperty of the Spaniards."

In revealing these things to his sister, the brother warned her toconceal herself on a certain day, otherwise she might be killed in theconfusion of the fight. The conquering warrior gives no quarter tothose whom he vanquishes. He concluded by telling her the day fixedfor the attack. Women generally keep the fire better than they do asecret,[2] and so it fell out that this young woman, either becauseshe loved Vasco Nunez or because in her panic she forgot herrelatives, her kinsmen, and neighbours as well as the caciques whomshe betrayed to their death, revealed the same to her lover, omittingnone of the details her brother had imprudently confided to her.Vasco Nunez sent this Fulvia to invite her brother to return, and heimmediately responded to his sister's invitation. He was seized andforced to confess that the cacique Zemaco, his master, had sent thosefour uru for the massacre of the Spaniards, and that the plot had beenconceived by him. Zemaco took upon himself the task of killingVasco Nunez, and forty of his people whom he had sent as an act offriendship to sow and cultivate Vasco's fields, had been ordered byhim to kill the leader with their agricultural tools. Vasco Nunezhabitually encouraged his labourers at their work by frequentlyvisiting them, and the cacique's men had never ventured to execute hisorders, because Vasco never went among them except on horseback, andarmed. When visiting his labourers he rode a mare and always carried aspear in his hand, as men do in Spain; and it was for this reason thatZemaco, seeing his wishes frustrated, had conceived the other plotwhich resulted so disastrously for himself and his people.

As soon as the conspiracy was discovered, Vasco Nunez, assemblingseventy men, ordered them to follow him, without however telling anyone either his destination or his intentions. He first rode to thevillage of Zemaco, some ten miles distant, where he learned thatZemaco had fled to Dabaiba, the cacique of the marshes of Culata. Hisprincipal lieutenant (called in their language _sacchos_, just astheir caciques are called chebi) was seized, together with all hisother servants, and carried into captivity. Several other natives ofboth sexes were likewise captured. Simultaneously Colmenares embarkedsixty soldiers in the four uru and set out up the river to look forZemaco. The young woman's brother served as guide. Arriving at thevillage of Tichiri, where the provisions for the army had beencollected, Vasco Nunez took possession of the place and capturedthe stores of different coloured wines, as we have already noted atComogra, and different kinds of native stores. The sacchos of Tichiri,who had acted in a manner as quartermaster of the army, was capturedtogether with four of the principal officers, for they did not expectthe arrival of the Spaniards. The sacchos was hanged on a tree that hehad himself planted, and shot through with arrows in full view ofthe natives, and the other officers were hanged by Colmenares onscaffolds, to serve as an example to the others. This chastisement ofthe conspirators so terrified the entire province that there was nota person left to raise a finger against the torrent of Spanish wrath.Peace was thus established, and their caciques bending their necksbeneath the yoke were not punished. The Spaniards enjoyed some days ofabundance, thanks to the well-filled storehouse they had captured atTichiri.[3]

[Note 3: This pitiful story of native treachery is frequentlyrepeated, and explains the enslavement, the downfall, and in parts,the extermination of the American tribes. Everywhere they betrayed oneanother to the final undoing of all.]

BOOK VI

In the general assembly convoked shortly afterwards, the colonistsunanimously decided to send an envoy to Hispaniola to ask forreinforcements and for the appointment of a judge. The same envoywould go on to Spain where he would first explain to the Admiral andhis officers and afterwards to the King, all that had happened, andwould seek to persuade his Majesty to send the thousand soldiers theson of Comogre had declared would be necessary for the expeditionacross the mountains to the South Sea. Vasco Nunez sought to be chosenfor this mission, but his companions refused him their votes, and hisadherents would not allow him to go; not only because they would havefelt themselves abandoned, but because they suspected that once out ofit, Vasco would not return to such a furnace of calamities, followingthe example of Valdivia and Zamudio, whom they had sent off inthe month of January, and who, they thought, had no intention ofreturning. In this latter they were wrong, as we shall show in theproper place, for those men were dead.

After several ballotings without result, the colonists finally chosea certain Juan Quevedo, a serious man of mature age, who was agent ofthe royal treasury in Darien. They had full confidence that Quevedowould conduct this business successfully, and they counted on hisreturn because he had brought his wife with him to the new world andwas leaving her in the colony as a pledge. As soon as Quevedo waselected, several opinions concerning an associate for him wereexpressed. Some people said it was risky to trust such an importantaffair to one man; not that they mistrusted Quevedo, but human life isuncertain, particularly if one considers that people accustomed to aclimate near the equator would be exposed on returning northwards tofrequent changes of climate and food. It was necessary, therefore, toprovide an associate for Quevedo, so that, if one died the othermight survive and if both escaped death, the King would place moreconfidence in their dual report. Much time was spent in debating thispoint, and finally they decided to choose Roderigo Colmenares, whosename I have frequently mentioned. He was a man of large experience; inhis youth he had travelled by land and sea over all Europe, and he hadtaken part in the Italian wars against the French. What decided thecolonists to choose Colmenares was the fact that, if he left, theycould count on his return, because he had purchased properties inDarien and had spent large sums in planting. He hoped to sell hiscrops as they stood, and to obtain the gold of his companions inexchange. He therefore left the care of his estates to a citizen ofMadrid, a certain Alonzo Nunez, who was his comrade. This man was ajudge, and had almost been chosen by the colonists as an envoy inplace of his friend Colmenares; and indeed he would have been electedbut that one of his companions explained that he had a wife at Madrid.It was feared, therefore, that the tears of his wife might preventhim from ever returning, so Colmenares, being free, was chosen as theassociate of Quevedo. There being no larger ship at their disposal,both men sailed on a brigantine, the fourth day of the calends ofNovember in the year of grace 1512.

During their voyage they were buffeted by many tempests, and werefinally dashed upon the western coast of that large island which for along time was thought to be a continent, and which in my First DecadeI explained was called Cuba. They were reduced to the most extremewant, for three months had elapsed since they left Darien. They were,therefore, forced to land to seek some assistance from the islanders,and by chance they approached on that side of the island whereValdivia had also been driven ashore by tempests. Ah! unhappycreatures! you colonists of Darien, who await the return of Valdiviato assuage your sufferings. Hardly had he landed before he and hiscompanions were massacred by the Cubans, the caravel broken to piecesand left upon the shore. Upon beholding some planks of that caravelhalf buried in the sand, the envoys bewailed the death of Valdivia andhis companions. They found no bodies, for these had either been throwninto the sea, or had served as food for the cannibals, for theselatter frequently made raids in Cuba in order to procure human flesh.Two islanders who had been captured, related the death of Valdivia,which had been brought about by the love of gold. These islandersconfessed that, having learned from the talk of one of Valdivia'scompanions that he had gold, they had plotted to assassinate himbecause they too loved gold necklaces.

Horrified by this catastrophe, and feeling themselves unable to avengetheir companions the Spaniards decided to fly from that barbarous landand the monstrous cruelty of those savages. They therefore continuedtheir voyage, stunned by the massacre of their companions andsuffering severely from want. After leaving the southern coast of Cubabehind them, a thousand untoward events still further delayed them.They learned that Hojeda had also landed and that he had been drivenby storms upon these coasts, where he led a wretched existence. Heendured a thousand annoyances and a thousand different kinds ofsufferings. After having suffered the loss of his companions orwitnessed them gasping from hunger, he had been carried to Hispaniolaalmost alone.

He arrived there hardly alive, and died from the effects of the woundhe had received from the natives of Uraba. Enciso, the judge elect,had sailed along this same coast, but with better fortune, for he hadhad favourable weather.

He himself told me these things at Court, and he added that thenatives of Cuba had received him kindly, especially the people of acertain cacique called El Comendador [the Commander]. When this chiefwas about to be baptised by some Christians who were passing through,he asked them how the governor of the neighbouring island ofHispaniola was called, and he was answered that he was called ElComendador.[1] The governor of that island was at that period, anillustrious knight of the Order of Calatrava, and the knights of thatOrder take the title of Commander. The cacique promptly declared thathe wished to be called El Comendador; and he it was who had givenhospitality to Enciso, when he landed, and had supplied all his wants.

[Note 1: Don Nicholas de Ovando, Comendador de Lares, and laterGrand Master of the Order of Calatrava.]

According to Enciso, now is the time, Most Holy Father from whom wereceive our religion and our beliefs, to preach to the islanders. Anunknown sailor,[2] who was ill, had been left by some Spaniards whowere coasting the length of Cuba, with the cacique El Comendador, andthis sailor was very kindly received by the cacique and his people.When he recovered his health, he frequently served the cacique aslieutenant in his expeditions, for the islanders are often at war onewith another; and El Comendador was always victorious. The sailorwas an ignorant creature, but a man of good heart, who cultivateda peculiar devotion for the Blessed Virgin, Mother of God. He evencarried about him, as constantly as his clothes, a picture of theBlessed Virgin, very well painted on paper, and he declared to ElComendador that it was because of it that he was always victorious.He also persuaded the latter to abandon the zemes the people adored,because he declared that these nocturnal goblins were the enemies ofsouls, and he urged the cacique to choose for his patron the VirginMother of God, if he desired all his undertakings, both in peace andin war, to succeed. The Virgin Mother of God was never deaf to theinvocation of her holy name by a pure heart. The sailor obtained aready hearing from these naked islanders. Upon the request of thecacique he gave him the image of the Virgin, and consecrated a churchand an altar to it. The zemes, whom their ancestors had worshippedwere abandoned. These zemes, Most Holy Father, are the idols made outof cotton, of which I have spoken at length in the tenth book of myFirst Decade. Following the instructions of the sailor, the cacique ElComendador and all his people of both sexes went each day at sunsetto the chapel dedicated to the Virgin. Entering, they knelt, andreverently bowing their heads and joining their hands they saluted theimage by repeated invocations, _Ave Maria, Ave Maria_; for there werevery few who had learnt the whole prayer.

[Note 2: Las Casas tells an identical story concerning Alonsode Hojeda, who gave an image of the Blessed Virgin to a cacique ofCueyba. During the campaign which ended in the conquest of Cuba, LasCasas offered to trade a Flemish statue for the one Hojeda had leftthere, but the cacique refused, and taking his image, he fled intothe woods, lest he should be forced to exchange. The two stories,doubtless, refer to the same incident, though it seems strange thatPeter Martyr should not have identified Hojeda as the "unknownsailor." See Las Casas, _Hist. de las Indias_, tom, iv., cap. xix.:_B. Las Casas, his Life, his Apostolate, and his Writings_, cap iv.]

When Enciso and his companions landed there, the Indians took them bythe hands and joyfully led them to the chapel, declaring that theywere going to show them something wonderful. They pointed to the holyimage surrounded, as though with a garland, by dishes full of food anddrink. They offered these presents to the image just as they formerlydid in their own religion to the zemes. They say that by suchofferings they provide for the image in case it should be hungry, forthey believe that it might suffer from hunger.

Listen now to a most curious story concerning the assistance theybelieve they have received from that image of the Blessed Virgin, andby my faith, Most Holy Father, one would willingly believe it to betrue. According to the report of our men, the effect of the ferventpiety which animates those simple souls for the Blessed Virgin Motherof God is such, that they almost constrain her to come down fromheaven to help them whenever they weaken in a struggle. Has not Godleft pity, love, and charity amongst men, by the practice of whichthey may merit His grace and that of the heavenly host? The Virgincould never abandon those who with pure heart invoke her aid. Now ElComendador and all his chiefs declared to Enciso and his companions,that when the sailor had carried the holy image with him into battlein full view of both armies, the zemes of the enemy turned their headsand trembled in the presence of the image of the Virgin; for it is thecustom for each army to carry its own protecting zemes into battle.Not only had they beheld the holy image but also a woman, robed infair white draperies, who, in the heat of the battle, sustainedthem against their enemies. The latter also declared that there hadappeared opposite to them a woman with menacing face, carrying asceptre, who encouraged the opposing army and that this apparitionmade them tremble with fear.

El Comendador declared that after the sailor had been taken away bysome Christians who had landed at that place, he had faithfully obeyedhis instructions. He further related that a heated altercation hadbroken out with his neighbours, as to which of the zemes was mostpowerful. The controversy led to frequent conflicts, in which theBlessed Virgin had never failed them, but had appeared in everybattle, grasping the victory with her small hands from the mostformidable of the hostile forces. The Spaniards asked what their warcry was, and they replied that, in obedience to the instructions ofthe sailor they only shouted, in the Spanish language, "St. Mary tothe rescue!" It was the only language the sailor spoke. In the midstof these cruel wars they made the following agreement; instead ofputting a fixed number of champions into the field, as was often doneby the armies of other nations of antiquity, or instead of settlingtheir disputes by arbitration, two young men of each tribe should havetheir hands tied behind their backs as tightly as he who bound themchose. They would then be led to a lofty place, and the zemes of thetribe whose champion most quickly undid his bonds should be acclaimedas the most powerful. The agreement was made, and the young menof both sides were thus bound. El Comendador's people tied theiradversary, while their enemies tied one of his men. Three differenttimes the trial was repeated, and each time after invoking theirzemes, the young men tried to free themselves from their bonds. ElComendador's champions repeated the invocation, "St. Mary, help me,St. Mary, help me!" and immediately the Virgin, robed in white,appeared. She drove away the demon, and touching the bonds of theChristian champion with the wand she carried, not only was he at oncefreed, but the bonds were added to those of his opponent, so that theenemy found the young Christian not only free, but their own championwith double bonds. They were not content with this first defeat,and attributed it to some human trickery which they did not believedemonstrated the superiority of the divinity. They therefore askedthat four men of venerable age and tried morality should be chosenfrom each tribe, and should stand on either side of each young man, inorder to verify whether or not there was any trickery. O whatpurity of soul and blessed simplicity, worthy of the golden age!El Comendador and his advisers yielded to this condition with aconfidence equal to that with which the sufferer from an effusion ofblood sought the remedy for his malady; or Peter, whose place, MostHoly Father, you occupy, marched upon the waves when he beheld ourLord. The conditions being accepted, the young men were bound and theeight judges took their places. The signal was given, and each onecalled upon his zemes, to come to his assistance. The two championsbeheld the zemes with a long tail and an enormous mouth furnished withteeth and horns just like the images. This devil sought to untie theyoung man who was acting as his champion, but at the first invocationof the Comendador the Virgin appeared. The judges, with wide open eyesand attentive minds, waited to see what would happen. She touched thedevil with the wand she was carrying and put him to flight, afterwardscausing the bonds of her champion to transfer themselves to the bodyof his adversary. This miracle struck terror into the Comendador'senemies, and they recognised that the zemes of the Virgin was morepowerful than their own.

The consequence of this event was, that when the news spread thatChristians had landed in Cuba, the Comendador's neighbours, who werehis bitter enemies, and had often made war upon him, sent to Encisoasking for priests to baptise them. Enciso immediately despatched twopriests who were with him, and in one day one hundred and thirty menof the Comendador's enemies were baptised and became his firm friendsand allies. We have in another place noted that chickens had greatlyincreased in the country, owing to the care of our compatriots. Eachnative who had received baptism presented the priest with a cock ora hen, but not with a capon, because they have not yet learned tocastrate the chickens and make capons of them. They also broughtsalted fish and cakes made of fresh flour. Six of the neophytesaccompanied the priests when they returned to the coasts, carryingthese presents, which procured the Spaniards a splendid Easter. Theyhad left Darien only two days before the Sunday of St. Lazarus, andEaster overtook them when they were doubling the last promontory ofCuba. In response to the petition of the Comendador they left with hima Spaniard, who volunteered for the purpose of teaching the cacique'ssubjects and their neighbours the Angelic Salutation, their idea beingthat the more words of the prayer to the Virgin they knew, the betterdisposed she would be to them.

Enciso agreed, after which he resumed his course to Hispaniola, whichwas not far distant. From thence he betook himself to the King, whowas then in residence at Valladolid, where I talked intimately withhim. Enciso seriously influenced the King against the adventurer VascoNunez, and secured his condemnation. I have wished, Most Holy Father,to furnish you these particulars concerning the religion of thenatives. They reach me not only from Enciso, but from a number ofother most trustworthy personages. I have done this, that YourBeatitude might be convinced of the docility of this race, and theease with which they might be instructed in the ceremonies of ourreligion. Their conversion is not to be accomplished from one day toanother, and it is only little by little that they will accept theevangelical law, of which you are the dispenser. Thus shall you seethe number of the sheep composing your flock increased each day. Butlet us return to the story of the envoys from Darien.

BOOK VII

The journey from Darien to Hispaniola may be made in eight daysor even less, if the wind is astern. Because of storms the envoysoccupied a hundred days in crossing. They stopped some days atHispaniola where they transacted their business with the Admiral andthe other officials, after which they embarked on the merchant vesselswhich lay ready freighted and plied between Hispaniola and Spain. Itwas not, however, till the calends of May of the year after theirdeparture from Darien, that they arrived at the capital. Quevedo andColmenares, the two envoys of the colonists of Darien, arrived thereon the fifteenth of May, of the year 1513. Coming as they did fromthe Antipodes, from a country hitherto unknown and inhabited by nakedpeople, they were received with honour by Juan de Fonseca, to whom thedirection of colonial affairs had been entrusted. In recognition ofhis fidelity to his sovereigns, other popes have successively bestowedon him the bishoprics of Beca, afterwards Cordova, Palencia, andRosano; and Your Holiness has just now raised him to the bishopricof Burgos. Being the first Almoner and Counsellor of the King'shousehold, Your Holiness has in addition appointed him commissarygeneral for the royal indulgences, and the crusade against the Moors.

Quevedo and Colmenares were presented by the Bishop of Burgos to theCatholic King, and the news they brought pleased his Majesty and allhis courtiers, because of their extreme novelty. A look at these menis enough to demonstrate the insalubrious climate and temperature ofDarien, for they are as yellow as though they suffered from livercomplaint, and are puffy, though they attribute their condition to theprivations they have endured. I heard about all they had done from thecaptains Zamudio and Enciso; also through another bachelor of laws,called Baecia, who had scoured those countries; also from the ship'scaptain Vincent Yanez [Pinzon], who was familiar with those coasts;from Alonzo Nunez and from a number of subalterns who had sailed alongthose coasts, under the command of these captains. Not one of thosewho came to Court failed to afford me the pleasure, whether verballyor in writing, of reporting to me everything he had learned. Trueit is that I have been neglectful of many of those reports, whichdeserved to be kept, and have only preserved such as would, in myopinion, please the lovers of history. Amidst such a mass of materialI am obliged necessarily to omit something in order that my narrativemay not be too diffuse.

Let us now relate the events provoked by the arrival of the envoys.Before Quevedo and Colmenares arrived, the news had already beenspread of the dramatic end of the first leaders, Hojeda, Nicuesa, andJuan de la Cosa, that illustrious navigator who had received a royalcommission as pilot. It was known that the few surviving colonists atDarien were in a state of complete anarchy, taking no heed to convertthe simple tribes of that region to our religion and giving noattention to acquiring information regarding those countries. It wastherefore decided to send out a representative who would deprive theusurpers of the power they had seized without the King's license, andcorrect the first disorders. This mission was entrusted to Pedro Ariasd'Avila, a citizen of Segovia, who was called in Spain by the nicknameof _El Galan_, because of his prowess in the jousts. No sooner wasthis news published at the Court than the envoys from Darien attemptedto deprive Pedro Arias of the command. There were numerous andpressing petitions to the King to accomplish this; but the firstAlmoner, the Bishop of Burgos whose business it is to stop suchintrigues, promptly spoke to the King when informed of this one, inthe following terms:

"Pedro Arias, O Most Catholic King, is a brave man, who has oftenrisked his life for Your Majesty, and who we know by long experienceis well adapted to command troops. He signally distinguished himselfin the wars against the Moors, where he comported himself as becamea valiant soldier and a prudent officer. In my opinion, it wouldbe ungracious to withdraw his appointment in response to therepresentations of envious persons. Let this good man, therefore,depart under fortunate auspices; let this devoted pupil of YourMajesty, who has lived from infancy in the palace, depart."

The King, acting on the advice of the Bishop of Burgos, confirmed theappointment of Pedro Arias, and even increased the powers conferredupon him. Twelve hundred soldiers were raised by the Bishop of Burgos,at the royal expense, to form the troop of Pedro Arias who, with themajority of them, left the Court at Valladolid about the calends ofOctober, in the year 1513, for Seville, a town celebrated for itsnumerous population and its wool. It was at Seville that the royalagents were to equip the remainder of his soldiers and deliver to himthe provisions and everything necessary for such a great enterprise.For it is there that the King has established his office chargedexclusively with colonial affairs. All the merchants, coming andgoing, appear there to render account of the cargoes they have broughtfrom the new countries, and of the gold they export. This office iscalled India House.[1]

Pedro Arias found two thousand young soldiers in excess of hisnumber awaiting him at Seville; he likewise found a goodly number ofavaricious old men, the majority of whom asked merely to be allowed tofollow him at their own cost, without receiving the royal pay. Ratherthan overcrowd his ships and to spare his supplies, he refused to takeany of the latter. Care was taken that no foreigner should mingle withthe Spaniards, without the King's permission, and for this reason I amextremely astonished that a certain Venetian, Aloisio Cadamosto, whohas written a history of the Portuguese, should write when mentioningthe actions of the Spaniards, "We have done; we have seen; we havebeen"; when, as a matter of fact, he has neither done nor seen anymore than any other Venetian. Cadamosto borrowed and plagiarisedwhatever he wrote, from the first three books of my first threeDecades, that is to say, those which I addressed to the CardinalsAscanio and Arcimboldo, who were living at the time when the eventsI described were happening. He evidently thought that my works wouldnever be given to the public, and it may be that he came acrossthem in the possession of some Venetian ambassador; for the mostillustrious Senate of that Republic sent eminent men to the Court ofthe Catholic Kings, to some of whom I willingly showed my writings. Ireadily consented that copies should be taken. Be that as it may, thisexcellent Aloisio Cadamosto has sought to claim for himself what wasthe work of another. He has related the great deeds of the Portuguese,but whether he witnessed them, as he pretends, or has merely profitedby the labour of another, I am unable to state. _Vivat et ipse martesuo_.

Nobody, who had not been enrolled by the royal agents, as a soldier,in the King's pay was allowed to go on board the vessels of PedroArias. In addition to these regulars there were some others, includingone Francisco Cotta, a compatriot of mine, and thanks to a royalorder I obtained for him, he was allowed to go to the New World asa volunteer with Pedro Arias. But for this he would not have beenpermitted to depart. Now let the Venetian, Cadamosto, go on and writethat he has seen everything, while I, who for twenty-six years havelived, not without credit, at the Court of the Catholic King, haveonly been able by the greatest efforts to obtain authorisation forone foreigner to sail. Some Genoese, but very few, and that atthe instance of the Admiral, son of the first discoverer of thosecountries, succeeded in obtaining a like authorisation; but to no oneelse was permission granted.

Pedro Arias sailed from Seville on the Guadalquivir to the sea, in thefirst days of the year 1514.[2] His departure took place under evilauspices, for such a furious storm broke over the fleet that twovessels were shattered to pieces, and the others were obliged tolighten themselves by throwing overboard some of their stores. Thecrews which survived returned to the coast of Spain, where the King'sagents promptly came to their assistance and they were enabled againto set forth. The pilot of the flagship appointed by the King wasGiovanni Vespucci, a Florentine, nephew of Amerigo Vespucci, who hadinherited his uncle's great ability in the art of navigation andtaking reckonings. We recently learned from Hispaniola that thecrossing had been favourable, and a merchant ship, returning from theneighbouring islands, had encountered the fleet.

[Note 2: The expedition sailed on April 14, 1514.]

As Galeazzo Butrigario and Giovanni Accursi who, to please YourHoliness, constantly urge me on, are sending a courier who willdeliver my ocean Nereids, however imperfect they may be, to YourBeatitude, I shall save time by leaving out many particulars and shallonly mention what, in my opinion, is worthy to be recorded and which Ihave not reported at the time it happened.

The wife of the captain Pedro Arias, by name Elizabeth Bobadilla, isthe grandniece on the father's side of the Marchioness Bobadilla deMoia, who opened the gates of Segovia to the friends of Isabella whenthe Portuguese were invading Castile, thus enabling them to hold outand later to take the offensive against the Portuguese; and stilllater to defeat them. King Henry, brother of Queen Isabella, had infact taken possession of the treasures of that town. During her entirelife, whether in time of war or in time of peace, the Marchioness deMoia displayed virile resolution, and it was due to her counsels thatmany great deeds were done in Castile. The wife of Pedro Arias, beingniece of this marchioness, and inspired by courage equal to that ofher aunt, spoke to her husband on his departure for those unknownlands, where he would encounter real perils, both on sea and on land,in the following terms:

"My dear husband, we have been united from our youth, as I think, forthe purpose of living together and never being separated. Whereverdestiny may lead you, be it on the tempestuous ocean or be it amongthe hardships that await you on land, I should be your companion.There is nothing I would more fear, nor any kind of death that mightthreaten me, which would not be more supportable than for me to livewithout you and separated by such an immense distance. I would ratherdie and even be eaten by fish in the sea or devoured on land bycannibals, than to consume myself in perpetual mourning and inunceasing sorrow, awaiting--not my husband--but his letters. Mydetermination is not sudden nor unconsidered; nor is it a woman'scaprice that moves me to a well-weighed and merited decision. You mustchoose between two alternatives. Either you will kill me or you willgrant my request. The children God has given us (there were eight ofthem, four boys and four girls) will not stop me for one moment. Wewill leave them their heritage and their marriage portions, sufficientto enable them to live in conformity with their rank, and besidesthese, I have no other preoccupation."

Upon hearing his wife speak such words from her virile heart, thehusband knew that nothing could shake her resolution, and therefore,dared not refuse her request. She followed him as Ipsicratea, withflowing hair, followed Mithridates, for she loved her living husbandas did the Carian Artemisia of Halicarnassia her dead Mausolus. Wehave learned that this Elizabeth Bobadilla brought up, as the proverbsays, on soft feathers, has braved the dangers of the ocean with asmuch courage as her husband or the sailors who pass their lives atsea.

The following are some other particulars I have noted. In my FirstDecade I spoke, and not without some praise, of Vincent Yanez Pinzon,who had accompanied the Genoese, Christopher Columbus, the futureAdmiral, on his first voyage. Later, he undertook, by himself and athis own cost, another voyage, with but one ship for which he receivedthe royal license. During the year preceding the departure of Hojedaand Nicuesa, Vincent Yanez undertook a third exploration, sailing fromHispaniola. His course was from east to west, following the southernshore of Cuba, which, owing to its length, many people at that timethought a continent; and he sailed round it. Many other persons havesince reported that they have done the same.

Having demonstrated by this expedition that Cuba was indeed an island,Vincent Yanez sailed farther, and discovered other lands west of Cuba,but such as the Admiral had first touched. He kept to the left and,following the continental coasts towards the east, he crossed thegulfs of Veragua, Uraba, and Cachibacoa, touching finally with hisship at the region which, in our First Decade, we have explained wascalled Paria and Boca de la Sierpe. He sailed into an immense gulfnoted by Columbus as remarkable for its fresh waters, the abundance offish, and the many islands it contained. It is situated about thirtymiles east of Curiana. Midway in this course Cumana and Manacapanaare passed; and it is at these places, not at Curiana, where the mostpearls are found.

The kings of that country, who are called _chiaconus_ just as they arecalled caciques in Hispaniola, sent messengers when they learned ofthe Spaniards' arrival, to ascertain who the unknown men might be,what they brought with them, and what they wanted. They launchedupon the sea their barques dug out of tree trunks which are the samementioned in our First Decade, and are called canoes in Hispaniola;but here the natives called them _chicos_. What most astonished them